Carice Anouk van Houten () is a Dutch actress and singer (born 5 September 1976 in Leiderdorp). Her first leading role in the television film ''

Suzy Q Suzy Q's were an American brand of snack cake produced and distributed by Hostess Brands similar to the Drake's Devil Dog. The oblong sandwich, of either devil's food cake or banana-flavored cake with white crème filling, was invented in 1961 ...

'' (1999) won her the Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama; two years later, she won the Golden Calf for Best Actress for '' Miss Minoes'' (2001). She gained widespread recognition for her performance in '' Black Book'' (2006), the most commercially successful Dutch film to date, for which she won her second Golden Calf for Best Actress, in addition to nominations from the

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

, the European Film Academy, and the Online Film Critics Society. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...

'' (2008), and won her fourth and fifth Golden Calf Awards for Best Actress for ''

The Happy Housewife ''The Happy Housewife'' ( nl, De gelukkige huisvrouw) is a 2010 Dutch-language film directed by Antoinette Beumer. It stars Carice van Houten Carice Anouk van Houten () is a Dutch actress and singer (born 5 September 1976 in Leiderdorp). H ...

'' (2010) and '' Black Butterflies'' (2011). Her other notable English-language performances include '' Repo Men'' (2010), ''

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

'' (2010), and '' Brimstone'' (2016). Van Houten received international recognition for her role as Melisandre on the HBO television series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

'' (2012–2019), for which she received nominations for two

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

s for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Early life

Van Houten was brought up watching silent films and in an interview she professed to prefer playing scenes without dialogue. She has a younger sister, Jelka van Houten, who is also an actress. Her paternal grandmother was Scottish.Slater, Lydia (5 March 2010)
"Euro star: Carice van Houten"
''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. Van Houten went to the St. Bonifatiuscollege (high school) in Utrecht, where she played the leading role in Hugo Claus' ''Tijl Uilenspieghel'', directed by Ad Migchielsen. Van Houten studied briefly at the

Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts The Toneelacademie Maastricht, institute of performative arts is a college of dramatic arts located in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. It is part of the Zuyd University (Zuyd Hogeschool). The school is housed in a former Protestant or ...

but continued her professional education after one year at the '' Kleinkunstacademie'' in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Acting career

Van Houten played her first leading role in Martin Koolhoven's TV film ''Suzy Q''. She won a Golden Calf for her part as Suzy. She also won the Pisuisse Award and the Top Naeff Award for her stage acting and another Golden Calf for her part as the kitten that becomes a woman in '' Miss Minoes'' (2001). The first time she could be seen in cinemas in the U.S. was when Martin Koolhoven's ''AmnesiA'' (2001) got a small theatrical release. Van Houten won a Golden Calf for her performance as Rachel Stein in '' Black Book'' (2006) at the Netherlands Film Festival. ''Black Book''s director

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

said about her in a television interview: "Never in my life I have worked with an actress this talented", and when asked to compare her with Sharon Stone he said "Carice can really act." The international press was also enthusiastic about her role in ''Black Book''. In December 2006, Van Houten withdrew from a theatre production of Alex van Warmerdam due to personal reasons. According to a theatre spokesman it was because of a work overload. In 2008, she starred in the non-commercial short movie ''Zingen in het donker'' (English: ''Singing in the dark''), a drama on domestic violence. She appeared in the magazine ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'' in the issue for March 2008, photographed by Wayne Maser. In 2008, Van Houten had a role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in '' Body of Lies'' but her scenes did not make the final cut of the movie. In April 2009, it was announced that Van Houten would star in ''

'' by British director Christopher Smith and in the Dutch film '' Komt een vrouw bij de dokter'' (English title: ''Stricken''), based on the novel of the same name by

Ray Kluun Raijmondus "Raymond" Godefriedus Norbert van de Klundert (known commonly as Kluun or Ray Kluun, born 17 April 1964) is a Dutch author. He is well known for his novel ''Love Life'' (Dutch: ''Komt een vrouw bij de dokter''), in which he documents ...

. She also starred in the science fiction thriller '' Repo Men''. In July 2011, Van Houten was cast as the priestess Melisandre in the second season of HBO's fantasy TV series ''

''. Her performance has garnered her praise and recognition, earning her a

nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her final performance as the character in the season 8 episode " The Long Night" in 2019. After nominations were announced for the ceremony, Van Houten received considerable media attention for having been one of the three nominated actors from the show to have self-submitted and paid entry fees to be on the ballot for Emmy consideration after HBO had not done so for them. She has also received three

nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014, 2016, and 2017 for the role. In 2012, Van Houten appeared in

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro labe ...

' "Cut the world" video, which was directed by Nabil Elderkin and also starred Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramović. In 2019, Van Houten starred as a prison therapist that becomes infatuated with one of her patients, a serial rapist, in Halina Reijn’s directorial debut ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

''. The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, receiving the Variety Piazza Grande Award and was selected as the Dutch submission for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. '' Variety''’s Guy Lodge described Van Houten as being "on electrifying form" and Reijn's direction "provides a fearsome reminder" of the former's breakthrough performance in ''Black Book''.

Personal life

Van Houten is in a relationship with Australian actor Guy Pearce, who she met on the set of '' Brimstone''. In August 2016, she gave birth to their son, Monte Pearce. She previously dated German actor Sebastian Koch; they met on the set of the 2006 film '' Black Book''. Van Houten speaks Dutch, English, German, and French. Van Houten has stated that Hollywood makes her unhappy: "I have seen Hollywood, and although I have nothing against it, it's not my kind of life. My agent is shocked that I want to stay in Europe," adding, "If Hollywood offers me a great part, of course I'll take it, but I just don't want to live there". Van Houten has been friends with fellow Dutch actress Halina Reijn since 1994. They worked together in the movies ''Black Book'' and ''Valkyrie''. In 2013, the two published a book called ''Anti Glamour'', a parody

style guide A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for gene ...

and a celebration of their friendship, as well as a candid look into the unglamourous back-stage side of their lives. Van Houten is a lifelong fan of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

. In June 2016, she called into ''The Ross Owen Show'' on Black Sky Radio to talk about her love of the comedy duo.

Filmography

Television

Carice van houten by sachyn mital (cropped)

Discography

* ''Black Book'' (soundtrack) (2007) – vocals on four songs *''See You on the Ice'' (2012) *"Fear Not" (2015) – featuring Michael Prins *"Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited" (2019) by Mercury Rev - vocals on 'Parchman Farm' *"

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. It was limited to a single copy sold in 2015, and is the most expensive work of music ever sold. The album was recorded in secret over six ...

" (2015) by Wu-Tang Clan

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Carice van Houten
at Virtual History * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houten, Carice Van 20th-century Dutch actresses 21st-century Dutch actresses Dutch film actresses Dutch stage actresses Dutch television actresses Dutch people of Scottish descent EMI Records artists Golden Calf winners Living people People from Leiderdorp 21st-century Dutch singers 21st-century Dutch women singers 1976 births